Suspect held in Michigan City slaying

East Chicago man being held without bond.

East Chicago man being held without bond.

June 13, 2007|STAN MADDUX Tribune Correspondent

MICHIGAN CITY -- An East Chicago man is expected to be arraigned in a Michigan City courtroom Thursday in connection with a fatal shooting during a birthday celebration. Clifford Jones, 25, was being held in the LaPorte County Jail without bond pending an initial hearing on Thursday in LaPorte Superior Court 1 on a murder charge. Initially, Jones, of the 4800 block of Cary Street, was held on a charge of Class B felony aggravated battery. The charge was later upgraded when the victim, Jameen Owens, died at St. Anthony Memorial Health Centers from a single gunshot wound to the neck. LaPorte County Deputy Coroner Mark Huffman said the main identification carried by Owens showed he resided in Hobart, Ind. But, while talking to Owens' mother, who lives in Gary, "she said he stayed in a couple of places," Huffman stated. According to police, officers about 6 a.m. Sunday responded to a report of shots fired and a victim down on Pine Tree Court, a residential area on the city's south side just west of U.S. 421. Within minutes, police said, officer Jeff Piotrowski located a man fitting the description of the suspect in the 4500 block of Ohio Street pushing a bicycle. Jones was brought into the police station for questioning because he fit the description police had of the suspect and also because Piotrowski learned the gunman was spotted by witnesses leaving the area on a bicycle. Huffman said the shooting occurred inside an apartment following some type of altercation that went on throughout the night during Owens' 29th birthday party. Police did not release further details of the shooting. After the victim died later in the day, the assault charge was elevated to murder upon further investigation by the LaPorte County prosecutor's office, police said. If convicted, Jones could now face anywhere from a 45- to 65-year sentence.